RLA Pastor's blog

Three times in the Christmas story you will read the phrase, “Do not be afraid.” The first time it was spoken to Mary as the angel Gabriel explained her role in God’s redemptive plan (Luke 1:30). The second time it was spoken to Joseph in a dream as the angel of the Lord instructed him to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20). And the third time it was spoken to the shepherds by the angel of the Lord who appeared to them announcing the birth of the Savior (Luke 2:10).

In a world full of fear, the message of Christmas is this: Do not be afraid. God is with us!

The recent tragedy in Connecticut reminds us that we live in a dangerous world where evil occurs. Evil isn’t just a concept; it’s a supernatural person the Bible calls Satan. Three times in John’s Gospel Jesus called Satan, “the prince of this world”(John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Jesus also told us that Satan has a threefold agenda for humanity: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). When we witness tragedies like the one that occurred in Connecticut last Friday, we are witnessing the handiwork of Satan. Satan specializes in death; God in life.

So what about, “peace on earth, good will toward men!”?It was fulfilled in the spiritual sense when Jesus died on the cross to reconcile sinful people with a holy God. In Romans 5:1 Paul said, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” But peace on earth in the sense of the absence of evil and its painful consequences is futuristic. It will occur at the Second Coming of Christ when the prince of this world is cast out, and the Prince of Peace reigns.

So what do we do in the meantime? We remember the words of Jesus in John 16:33. Jesus told us that in the world we will have tribulation. That’s a reality. But Jesus also said that in Him we could have peace. In a world full of fear, we can have perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

So do not be afraid. Be of good cheer. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And He has overcome the world.